Take safety steps during most dangerous month for lightning strikes

By Ben Smart, special to CNN

Updated 9:43 AM ET, Thu May 25, 2017

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Monument Valley, Utah – Monument Valley on the Arizona-Utah border is known for its sandstone formations and vast desert views. Toby Dingle captured this lightning strike in September 2013. Click to see some amazing lightning photos from the past few years.

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Antwerp, Belgium – In Antwerp, Belgium, Zachary Koulermos was woken up by a hailstorm in June. After the hail subsided, the rain brought an "amazing lightning storm," he said. He grabbed his camera and tripod as the clouds retreated.

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Apache Junction, Arizona – Storm chaser Stacy LeClair got this shot during a severe storm that swept through Apache Junction, Arizona, on July 7. "The Superstition Mountains are a favorite landmark in Arizona, and the church offered a unique background for showing how powerful nature can be," she said.

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Dubrovnik, Croatia – Several severe thunderstorms came through the oceanfront city of Dubrovnik, Croatia, in June. Boris Basic, who snapped this photo, said the storms also brought hail and flash flooding. "It was intense experience," he said.

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Sebastian, Florida – The lightning's quick movement and the way it contrasted with the colors of the sunset caught Billy Ocker's eye in his photo from Florida's Sebastian Inlet on July 21.

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Miami, Florida – "I was really surprised I was able to capture a lightning strike like this," said Madeline Belt, who shot this photo off Biscayne Bay in Miami in June. The storm would later become Hurricane Arthur.

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Seattle, Washington – When Seattle was pummeled with a severe electrical storm in August 2013, "all of us photographers stood and watched in amazement," said Tim Durkan. He took this photo from Kerry Park in the Queen Anne neighborhood.

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Chicago, Illinois – Shooting on a friend's balcony, David Sowa used a 15-second exposure on his Nikon and an Instagram filter to capture this image of lightning striking the Willis Tower in Chicago in July.

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New York, New York – Matthew Burke shot this dramatic lightning strike from his Manhattan apartment window in July 2012. "There was very strong rain and wind for about 15 minutes, at which point the rain cleared and the lightning show began," he said.

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Wakefield, Massachusetts – This lightning storm decided to join in on the fireworks after a 2012 Fourth of July celebration in Wakefield, Massachusetts. "The rain was right where the storm cell was, so we weren't getting rained on. It was a lucky shot," said Joshua Cruse, who captured this photo.

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San Francisco, California – Phil McGrew kept his camera going for an hour and a half as a storm passed over San Francisco's Bay Bridge in April 2012. He shot this 20-second exposure through a rain-soaked window. "Lightning is rare here, but I always thought it (the bridge) would be a pretty good target for lightning," he said.

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Red Rock, Arizona – Bill Vaughn and his wife were hoping to photograph the Perseid meteor shower from Red Rock, Arizona, in August 2012. "We didn't catch many meteors, but did see that wonderful storm," he said. "The natural light show was very pleasing."

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Boston, Massachusetts – "'As the storm neared, the lightning intensified, lighting up the sky nearly once a second," said Jim Clouse, who witnessed lightning striking downtown Boston in June 2011.

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Sebastian, Florida – It's only an optical illusion, but lightning appears to be striking a lamppost in this June photo from Billy Ocker. "The storm was wicked strong," he remembered.

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Washington, D.C. – Aspiring photographer Kevin Wolf captured a photo of a lightning storm in Washington in September 2012. He says he caught this photo by keeping the shutter of his camera open for 60 seconds.

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Story highlights

National Weather Service: "When thunder roars, go indoors"

If no buildings are nearby, seek refuge in a metal-topped car with windows closed

90% of lightning victims survive, but many have lifelong disabilities

(CNN)A group of hikers were 500 feet below the summit of a Colorado mountain in 2015 when storm clouds suddenly filled the sky.

A lightning strike -- a brief but intense burst of electricity -- affected as many as 16 hikers. Three were rushed to a local hospital and eight others required medical treatment, according to the Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office. All the hikers survived the incident, but one hiker's dog was killed.

Across the country in Greeleyville, South Carolina, lightning may have caused a fire at Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church that gutted the interior and collapsed the roof, according to the FBI.

July is the month when the number of lightning strikes -- and fatalities -- is at its highest. On average, 49 people are killed and hundreds more are injured in the United States each year by lightning strikes.

The odds of being struck in your lifetime are about 1 in 12,000, the National Weather Service estimates. But experts say there are a few rules to help keep people safe.

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"We need to look at lightning safety proactively, not reactively," said Dr. Mary Ann Cooper, a physician and lightning researcher who directed the Lightning Injury Research Program at the University of Illinois at Chicago. "Avoiding situations where lightning can strike is key."

One simple rule

The National Weather Service recommends one rule to avoid lightning injuries: "When thunder roars, go indoors."

No place outside is safe when there are thunderstorms in the area, they say, as lightning can strike 10 to 15 miles away from a storm. If there isn't a structure nearby, a metal-topped vehicle with closed windows can provide safety.

Stay safe indoors

Although the safest place from lightning is indoors, there a number of extra precautions to take once inside.

A common misconception is that metal objects or water "attract" lightning. In reality, they're no more likely to be struck than a piece of cardboard or a person. The danger occurs because metal and water better conduct electricity once they're zapped.

The National Weather Service recommends people avoid washing hands or taking a shower, and touching or even unpluggingelectrical devices plugged into walls, as these can conduct electricity from a lightning strike.

Disregard outdated advice

Experts said there's some truth in the idea that lightning is more likely to strike the tallest object in an area -- for example, a tree or a skyscaper-- and that "pointier" objects are more likely to be hit.

But being outside at all during a thunderstorm puts you at risk of getting struck. The "lightning crouch," which was once thought to keep people safe during a lightning storm, is no longer recommended, Cooper said. There is no "safe" place outdoors during stormy weather.

"Lightning doesn't know if you're 6 feet tall or 3 1/2 feet tall after it's traveled miles through the air," said Cooper, who is the founding director of the African Centre for Lightning and Electromagnetics.

It's not always a direct hit

It's a common misconception that a person needs to be struck directly to be injured by lightning, Cooper said. Only 3% to 5% of injuries are from direct strikes, she said.

There are several ways lightning can reach a victim's body and cause injury. More than half of lightning-related injuries result from what's called a "ground strike," where lightning strikes the Earth and spreads through the ground, eventually reaching a person, Cooper said.

"A lightning 'side flash' also kills a tremendous portion of people," Cooper said. "That's where lightning travels down a tree and sideways where a person might be standing."

After lightning strikes

The surge of electricity from a lightning strike can wreak havoc on a person's heart, brain and nervous system, and it can cause instant death by "short-circuiting" the heart. A survivor of a lightning strike might live with severe brain damage that can make activities such as memory, learning and task organization difficult.

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"Ninety percent of people who are injured by lightning survive, but disabilities can last for a lifetime," Cooper said. "I've seen significant devastation to families from lightning injuries."

If you witness someone struck by lightning, get emergency medical help right away. If multiple people are impacted, help anyone unconscious first. If the person has stopped breathing or has no pulse, correct CPR should be attempted immediately.

"If the person is breathing, talking and making sense, there is no emergency and generally little a physician would find or be able to treat," Cooper said. Some symptoms may not be noticeable until later, when a person is unable to carry out daily responsibilities in the way they did before.

"Many people who are struck by lightning describe it as a blunt force... like being impacted by an explosion," Cooper said. "Others may feel the sensation creeping up one leg, or as a burning or searing pain."